It’s time again for our weekly recap of the latest Facebook news stories! While Facebook didn’t acquire any companies, or surpass any significant milestones this week, there was still plenty of news for the fast growing social platform. We also have the second volume of the This Week In Facebook video series being produced by my sister. The video is jam packed with YoVillians, burglars, and a game of Risk so check it out!

Protests In YoVille
This week was a volatile one for the world of YoVille, as the much beloved widgets factory was transformed into a Sweets Factory.…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

To describe Zynga as a powerful influence on the Facebook developer platform would be an understatement. The company has achieved levels never thought possible. Farmville, the company’s leading application has reached levels that no other developer has ever come close to. In other words, the company is in a league of its own. With over 126 million monthly active users, the company accounts for the sum total of the next three largest developers: Playfish, RockYou, and Causes. So how did the company get to be so large?

The Art Of Chess
If Facebook application development was a chess game, Mark…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion on Thursday said it sold fewer BlackBerry phones than analysts had expected and that the company’s quarterly earnings were hurt by a legal settlement.Even though RIM still saw strong sales of BlackBerrys, the news sent the company’s stock price tumbling in after-market trading. Many are now wondering if RIM’s disappointing sales are an indicator of a wider smartphone slowdown or if the news is an indication that the company is losing its edge in an increasingly competitive market.RIM’s co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, said the company is still in very good shape.”This stuff (smartphones and mobile applications)…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

If a report from TheStreet.com has it right, Verizon won’t be picking up the Palm Pre after all. Showcased at this year’s CES, Palm’s flagship phone garnered quite the following, and was praised as a potential iPhone killer. Just prior to its official debut on Sprint’s network in June, Verizon said it would offer the smartphone within six months.Sprint replied by saying it held exclusive rights to the Pre through 2009, which left most with the impression that the handset would be available via Verizon in January 2010. Palm’s CEO Jon Rubinstein recently fueled that anticipation when he said the…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) is in talks with Yulong, China’s largest dual mode handset manufacturer, to exclusively distribute its mobiles in India. Officials close to the development said the estimated valuation of Yulong’s agreement with Reliance World is approximately Rs 600 crore. Reliance Webstore Ltd, the company that manages Reliance World chain of stores, will ink the agreement with Yulong. “The discussions are underway and we are currently in the test marketing mode for two models of dual-mode handset brand, Coolpad. By the end of the year, we plan to add a total of five models,” said Sarup…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

FRANKFURT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Magna will cut about 10,500 Opel jobs in Europe, the bulk in Germany, as it acts to return the carmaker to profit and pay back 4.5 billion euros ($6.55 billion) in state aid, its co-chief executive said. The Canadian auto parts supplier aims to sign a deal with former Opel parent General Motors within two weeks to buy a 55 percent stake together with Russian partner Sberbank, Siegfried Wolf said on Monday. “By 2015 we want to pay back the government-guaranteed loans. Opel will be profitable before that, however,” Wolf told a news conference. Around 4,000…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

EMC Corp. is poaching a top executive from Intel Corp. as the computer-storage giant reorganizes its executive suite, likely setting up an internal battle to succeed Chief Executive Joseph Tucci. EMC is expected to announce Monday that 48-year-old Patrick Gelsinger, who heads Intel’s core chip business, will run EMC’s storage-products operations and some smaller software units, effective immediately. EMC also promoted veteran executive Howard Elias, 52, to head the services division, which includes maintenance, consulting and back-up storage. Mr. Tucci, the current chairman and CEO, said that the two men, along with chief financial officer David Goulden, 50, are…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]

NEW DELHI: Credit card companies are revisiting their revenue models to sustain usage of cards and attract new clients. What could be in the offing is a lower or differential interest rate on credit cards. To make up for revenue loss on this front, companies may be levying a variety of fees, including an annual fee, annual or monthly maintenance cost, charges for direct services provided such as cheque representation charges and cash collection fees. Credit card issuers such as State Bank of India Cards, ING Vysya Bank, and Deutsche Bank have all hinted that they are giving this option…

[ Read the rest of the story in the original article... ]